Earlier this past winter we noticed the most adorable kid’s bedroom bunk fort being made (via Instagram) by local freelance stylist, event and wedding floral designer, Natalie Bjordal and her husband Jason, a carpenter. Admiring the work they were doing in their renovated townhouse on the north shore, we asked if they would mind sharing a few pics of the fort for Poppytalk, along with their inspiration. The following is a peek into their daughter’s room, along with a mini-interview about it. Check it out below, we think you’ll love it as much as we do!
1. Describe your inspiration behind creating the room.
We moved four times since Penny was born and we knew all the other houses weren’t long term. We really wanted to figure out where we wanted to be and we love to change it up and move around to experience new neighbourhoods and meet new people. We knew we would be staying in this townhouse for a while so we really wanted to make this room special for Penny since it was her first “big girl bed” and she had a new baby sister coming. I wanted to give her a place to hide out, play on her own, read some books etcetera, and wanted to maximize the space in her room so we decided to build the fort (as we call it). She loves it and it’s a hit with everyone that comes over…both children and adults enjoy it! It’s super comfortable and cozy.
2. How did you build it?
It’s an Ikea KURA bunk bed hack and so we built that in her room first. Then added a piece of sturdy plywood to the bottom so we could add a mattress on both levels of the bunk. My husband Jason used a bunch of spruce 1 x 4’s to create the paneling and then cut out a peek-a-boo window in the front. The handles that are going up the stairs are actually towel racks that I spray painted matte black.
leo.
We were going to add a round window at the back of the top bunk but decided to turn the back into a work space for Penny. We added a piece of spruce that you can buy pre cut and sanded at Rona and added two strong white brackets underneath..so simple!
I’m lucky my husband is a carpenter, I’m always dreaming up new projects so we end up with a lot of custom pieces in our home…he looooooooves me for it..right Jas?
3. What was your budget?
We ended up spending around $400.00 for everything (mattresses included). We chose spruce because it’s light and cheap but still strong.
4. Any tips on making one yourself?
Take your time and be creative!
5. Anything you would like to add?
We are still planning to add a flower box under the window, I’m going to make the flowers out of crepe paper. Penny has also requested some curtains for the window so that is also on the to-do list.
Thank you Natalie and Jason for sharing! What an adorable space, we love it!
You can visit Natalie online at her website nataliebjordal.com. She tells us the majority of the time she’s with her two little gals but she still manages to squeeze in a bit of freelance styling work, event design and florals for weddings. You can also follow her on Instagram at @nataliebjordal.
